What is the effect of increasing kilovoltage (kV) on radiographic images?

Increasing kilovoltage (kV) significantly impacts the characteristics of a radiographic image. When kilovoltage is raised, the energy of the x-rays produced increases, leading to greater penetration power of the x-rays as they pass through different tissues. This is critical in achieving optimal imaging quality, especially in denser areas of the body.

As kV increases, it allows more x-rays to penetrate through tissues without being absorbed, resulting in better visualization of structures that may otherwise appear obscured at lower kV settings. However, one of the trade-offs associated with raising kV is a reduction in image contrast. This is because higher kV x-rays tend to expose a wider range of tissue densities more uniformly, leading to images that may have less distinction between different anatomical areas.

While the increase in patient exposure is a concern, the key factor with higher kV is not merely about increased exposure; it mainly concerns the balance between penetration and contrast. Therefore, at elevated kV settings, the quality of the image is markedly influenced by this balance, making choice C the most accurate in reflecting the effects of increasing kilovoltage on radiographic images.